Hello there,

I recently added 100 brookie and 100 rainbow to my pond approximately 6-8" in size. I threw some food in the water and noticed that some fish were feeding calmly while others were hitting the pellets hard almost coming out of the water. It appeared to be small groups of each type of feeding too. Can I tell them apart by the way they feed?

Thanks for input.

Mainahs70,
I stocked rainbow and brookies October 2021. The hatchery raised both from eggs at the same time. The rainbow were 10-12 inches and the brooke trout were about 6 inches when I purchased them. Now almost 6 months later it is easy to tell them apart. The rainbow trout are so much larger attacking the feed like piranhas making a huge splash. The brooke trout feed is less aggressive with a smaller splash because of their size. Many times I am able to see both species breach the surface or a tail whip throwing a splash. I hope this helps!

My experience with rainbow trout was that they were very aggressive & grew fast on feed. Brook trout are more insectivorous by nature & thus may not take to feed as well, though I haven't had any direct experience with them.

Thanks for the input.

My goal is to have the pond self sustaining and am only feeding until I feel they've acclimated. I put in golden shiners and fathead minnows last year and they bred rather well. Water bugs were prolific too. Planning on planting additional aquatic plants to help with cover and insect availability. Maybe I'll be having dinner from the pond this fall.

Mainhahs, do you think your pond is cool enough for trout to survive the summer?

10-13 feet with trees around 3/4 of the pond. A friend on the other side of town has a shallower pond with more direct sun and his trout do very well. My concern is the other way- the surface is frozen 3-4 months and being new and little vegetation so far I wonder if there will be enough oxygen for them come next winter.

Wow, that's COLD!

Other folks here know far more than I about trout, so I'll let them chime in. One thing you could consider is running an aerator in relatively shallow water thru winter ice period. Improves DO levels, but allows a stable temp refuge at the bottom of the pond.